Just curious who else is living super frugal

[annabananaandfamily]

alright ol' timers (hey, you have said it yourselves AND used the bearded smiley...) I am ready for your advice.

We just found out this past weekend that we got the house we were trying for. It comes with 10 acres of land, much of it pastured, with 2 ponds (one of which has been claimed by husband and daughters as the hockey pond, so that one is off limits), and a 2 stall barn already with electric and running water. We wont have access to the barn for a while (its a lease to own set up and we probably wont have barn access until we formally purchase the home), but its there for future planning. Also already has a large garden plot which looks like it will bounce back nicely next year with a little tlc (not that I know much about gardening. But I guess now is my chance to learn!)

So, what would be the first things you would do? What kind of DIY projects would you suggest to put us on a path towards more self-reliance and organic/healthier lifestyle? Start me out small and simple, and then maybe throw some bigger ideas my way

 

[mickey328]

OMgosh, Anna...I'm soooo jealous! Congrats to you!

First thing I'd do is get that garden prepped for spring. It's not too late to put in a winter type crop...rye or wheat. You can till it all under in the spring about a month before you plant...that'll give the soil there a good boost of fresh plant material.

Next, get some compost piles going. You can do this with all sorts of stuff...all the weeds and grass etc that gets cleaned out...into the compost pile. Check around with neighbors and friends to collect some of their compostable materials...and any manure you can get from herbivores. Get them started and they'll have all winter to work...get a jump start for next year.

I'd also get to work on a nice, big coop...cuz with that much land, I'd be havin' me LOTS of chickens! I'd plan on working on it now and getting the birds in the spring.

In addition, I'd plan for spring planting of stuff to grow for the livestock. If there's time, you could even make some bigger areas to put winter rye and wheat in and let it grow for harvest next summer.

Next, you need to build a small, extra house...so we can come move in with ya! ROFL!

 

[stoopid]

Congratulations. Sounds spectacular.
I have learned to start off small, not to start building any outbuildings (chicken coops) right away.
Just clean up as much as you can, things will start to materialize in your head.
I know everyone get anxious, but in my world, everything built in haste usually needs more time and money to get it right, rather than if I waited a while for it to be perfect. JMO

 

[DennisK]

Yep – excellent advice! Work the soil as that will be the foundation for your frugal living adventures. Also, check out Margory Wildcraft - google her.

 

[mickey328]

Good point, Stoopid. I should have said "plan" rather than "build". LOL, I've been doing so much research and thinking about what we'd do with some acreage that I have stuff laid out in my mind and would be pretty much ready to get too it asap.

 

[jbirds2012]

congrats !!! looks like your gonna have your work cut out for ya. or as we like to call it "play" ok, some advice: " don't look at the mountain " and we like to refer to all the projects we have going on as " works in progress " or " play in progress " if you will. have fun

 

[ScottnLydia]

My advice to you would be to give it up ... TO ME !!! Boy does that sound great ! Like others have said,...a barn? With electricity? AND WATER? OH, what I would give... Huh? What? There I go, Off in dreamland again

Anyway, as others have said, just take on small projects that you can handle one at a time. That's how you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. Composting for the garden is great. Check Craigslist for adult chickens maybe. I like to use deep litter (straw) in the chicken house, when we clean it out and compost it with leaves it cooks real fast. The great thing about bird manure is that since they have crops to grind seeds, there are virtually no weed seeds in the finished compost! Green manuring like Mickey spoke of is also great, it builds tilth.

2 ponds,eh? Can they be stocked? Perhaps with the addition of a solar powered aerator and feeding you could raise a crop of catfish, tilapia, giant pacific octopus,perhaps.

You will probably need to invest in a good, large rototiller, if not a tractor.

Dream, ponder carefully, but try not to limit your thinking. Think outside the box as well. Sometimes stuff works, sometimes not, but it's always more interesting. Look what happened when someone told Mr. Duncan, "Hey, if you don't like my donuts, go make your own!"

Best of luck,
~S

 

[annabananaandfamily]

We're bringing our small flock with us, along with a little coop that will work for the winter but definitely will need to be expanded in the spring. I just keep thinking that I get to add some guineas!! WOOT! Those things crack me up!

The compost is a must, especially for a family our size. I will have to take some time to walk the property and really figure out where everything should be. I would like to keep the animals all in one general area, so the coop and chickens will obviously go on the barn side of the land...there is also an area close by the barn that was used at one point as a dog kennel (apparently a previous owner bred them) that still has a wonderful fence around it. Every time I see it I think that it would be perfect for a couple of little goats. Not that a goat would serve any sort of practical reason for us- we dont like goats milk and I dont know how to make cheese or soap. Maybe I could sell the milk to someone locally....Hmmmmm, the possibilities!

 

[Carebearsmiles]

I'm loving this thread. I am for sure living frugal. For both monetary reasons and because I try my best to live "green". Which often means repurposing items for the sake of not throwing them away. This process also saves a lot of money.

I joined a local freecycle email group and I list any items I am not going to use so that others may use them. I also respond to others posts with their used items. Sometimes the items are something I have needed for a while and used wont hurt them. : )

I coupon as much as humanly possible.

I freeze bread, herbs (from my garden), milk, and other things to keep sale items or bulk purchased items fresh.

I also try to conserve on my utilities as much as possible. I only run the dishwasher in extreme dish emergencies (lots of company), otherwise I hand wash. I try to hang as much laundry out to dry as I have time for. This cuts down on my dryer usage and makes clothes smell fresher IMO.

And I actually got my first pullet recently (and am going to add to that soon) for fresh eggs that I wont have to buy at the store. Besides my herbs, I also garden anything else I can so that I'm not buying it from the store.

 

[DennisK]

The great thing about having your own chickens is that you don’t need to depend on the store for eggs and chicken meat. Also, you know you are consuming food that isn’t stuffed with bad chemicals. Also, your food is more companionably acquired. The bad thing is the cost of chicken feed. Jennifer has plans for growing our own feed – she has me scheduled for time behind the tiller.
Last winter, we stopped using propane for heating, and we burned wood. It is so much more comfortable and a great deal cheaper. Fortunately, I have a couple of dead oak trees that needs to be cut up, but we need to look to the future; so we are currently clearing land for a wood lot. We are thinking of planting eucalyptus trees as they gain a proper firewood size after five years. Years back, I was acquainted with someone who planted a row of eucalyptus trees each year. After five years, the first row was harvested and replaced with new growth. The sixth year, he harvested and planted the second row; and so on down the five year period. We are attempting to copy that example. Each morning, after the animals are fed, we pull black sage brush to clear the land. I can’t afford a tractor; so Jennifer came up with a great idea. I bought a $36 ¼ inch wire cable that is 100 feet long. It has a hook on both ends. I thread the cable along the base of a group of sage bushes and place the hook on the cable so that it slides into a noose. The other end is attached to the back of the pickup, and off we drive. A big swath of sage brush is gathered up and pulled out like a big bouquet of flowers. It is then deposited in a, now, HUGE pile of displaced sage brushes. This coming spring, we will have a big bonfire. Black Sage is a woody bush that grows about 4 feet, and I would like to chop it up into compost shavings rather than burn it. However, I have a suspicion this may not be a good idea because I’ve noticed that nothing grows around Black Sage. If I use it as compost, would it discourage growth of other plants? Perhaps I should do a little experiment.